The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) took Sharjah’s investment proposition to Shanghai this month, as part of its ongoing campaign to promote Sharjah as a destination for Chinese trade and investment. The authority took part in the 18th China International Fair of Investment and Trade in the coastal city of Xiamen, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Economy. Following the trade fair, Shurooq held an investment roadshow in Shanghai, the commercial and financial center of mainland China and the country’s most populous city.

Shurooq met with a group of investors from the Networks of Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, while the second day of the roadshow was co-organised with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai Sub-Council (CCPIT Shanghai Sub-Council).

Trade and investment between China and the United Arab Emirates continues to grow and Shurooq has organised many investment promotion activities over the past year, in China and in Sharjah. In April, the authority organised a nine-day Sharjah investment roadshow to China meeting with hundreds of Chinese investors and businessmen in different cities, including the capital Beijing. Sharjah has also hosted a number of events and high-level meetings with Chinese businessmen, investors and government officials over the past year to strengthen ties.

Bilateral trade between China and Sharjah grew 18 per cent between 2010 and 2012, from AED 3.3 billion (US$ 898m) to AED 3.9 billion (US$ 1b). During the first half of 2013, trade between the UAE and China accounted for 70 percent of China’s total trade with the Arab world, while over 4,000 Chinese companies are estimated to have a presence in the Emirates.